Decentralized Power and Disaster Preparation: Since the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, much of the...

Since the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, much of the energy conversation has centered around the question of the safety of nuclear power . Though this is an important issue, especially in such extreme circumstances as the events at the Fukushima nuclear plant, it ignores a larger concern. Centralized energy itself is notoriously vulnerable to disruption from natural disasters, and whether nuclear or otherwise, a decentralized energy future is much better suited to preparing us for the next big natural event. Until recently, major barriers existed in the areas of financing, regulation, and technology toward the creation of functional distributed generation power. In the past few years, though, developments in decentralized energy (mostly at the hands of American companies) are enabling communities and businesses to better disaster-proof their power supply. Centr...